The air was thick. Suffocating.

  The glow of Kuroda’s transformation had begun to settle, but the pressure he exuded did not. It was like standing before a force of nature—a camity that had taken human form.

  And he could feel it. The weight of their fear.

  Not the kind that made them tremble. Not yet.

  No—this was the fear that seeped in slow, like an infection. The kind that started as doubt.

  And doubt… was the first step to defeat.

  Kuroda exhaled slowly, turning his gaze toward Yumi.

  His voice was almost gentle.

  “Yumi, tell me… are you doing all this for your little friend?”

  Yumi’s breath hitched.

  Kuroda’s smirk widened.

  “You think you’re here to avenge her?” he mused, tilting his head. “But what you fail to realize is that—” he gestured toward himself, toward the overwhelming power now surging through his veins—“she helped create this. Without her death, I never would have had what I needed to ascend.”

  Yumi’s fingernails dug into her palms.

  Rage swirled in her chest like a storm, but she couldn’t speak.

  She couldn’t breathe.

  Kuroda turned, his eyes now nding on Ren.

  “And you… don’t I remind you of someone?”

  Ren’s entire body tensed.

  He already knew what was coming.

  “You idolized Ancient, didn’t you?” Kuroda continued, stepping closer. “You even helped the Setai hide the fact I assassinated him.”

  Ren’s fingers curled into fists. His breath was slow, steady—but shaking.

  “You shaped your entire life around that man. His legacy. And yet… here I am. Standing before you, wielding the very power he once had. I have become what he was. No—”

  Kuroda’s smirk deepened.

  “I have surpassed him.”

  Ren’s fingers twitched at his side.

  His grip on Tsukuyomi tightened.

  “You should be idolizing me… not fighting me. I am the HERO HERE! I’ve had this vial for YEARS! I could’ve ascended alone but I chose to take a good amount of people with me. Can’t you see my heroism?!Why fight against me when you can kneel and have hope?”

  A sharp exhale.

  The corner of Ren’s mouth twitched.

  “Like hell I would.”

  Kuroda let out a quiet chuckle.

  “Defiant to the end, huh?”

  Then—his eyes shifted again.

  Kuroda’s gaze fell on Akira.

  “And you… Mori took your hand, didn’t he?”

  Akira froze.

  “First an ambush to take out your men. Then bringing you to our organization to humiliate you in our tests. You lost it trying to kill him,” Kuroda continued. “And I—well, I killed that man for you.”

  Akira’s jaw clenched.

  “You should be thanking me, Akira. I did what you couldn’t. And if you would just listen to me…”

  Kuroda raised his hand—the one pulsing with divine, newly awakened energy.

  “With my power, I could bring back your arm. I could make you whole again.”

  Akira’s breath was slow. Steady.

  But inside—he felt it.

  The doubt.

  The temptation.

  Kuroda knew exactly how to break them.

  Then—his gaze shifted again.

  To Ryuko.

  And for the first time—he hesitated.

  The smirk didn’t falter. His expression didn’t shift.

  But there was a moment—a flicker of something.

  A pause.

  As if searching for the right words.

  As if trying to find a crack in Ryuko’s mind like he had with the others.

  And then—he just looked away.

  No words. Nothing.

  Just a flicker of amusement in his eye before he turned back to the group.

  And when he spoke again, his voice was commanding. Final.

  “All you have to do… is kneel.”

  Silence.

  No one moved. No one spoke.

  Kuroda’s smirk widened.

  “Then perish.”

  He raised his hand—a blinding light beginning to form in his palm.

  But then—he stopped.

  His head tilted slightly, gaze shifting toward the distance.

  The sound of whirling bdes.

  A chopper.

  Slowly approaching.

  Kuroda’s eyes narrowed slightly, the light in his hand dimming as his smirk returned.

  “Hmph.”

  CUT TO BLACK.